Headquarters Area: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Glacier National Park

Regions 6, 7, & 8 Park Cultural Landscapes Program

Inventory Unit Description: The Headquarters Area (also known as the Headquarters Historic District) is located approximately 1/2 mile north of the town of West Glacier along Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana. The complex contains an array of administrative, utility, and residential buildings that are accessed from a narrow paved road branching near the West Entrance Station. Limited development occurred on site in the late 19th century; however, it was the establishment of Glacier National Park in 1910 that spurred interest in the development of a headquarters area for the park. Shortly thereafter in 1911, the first drawings were drafted for the new administrative area, though construction of the first buildings did not begin until the area was purchased in 1917. From the 1920s to the 1940s, the area developed incrementally in accordance with NPS master plans. The plans created three separate and distinct use clusters—administrative, utilitarian, and residential. The administrative buildings were located within the south and southeastern portion of the site, with the utility area located to the north and northwest of the administrative area. The main residential area was located to the east and northeast of the administrative area. After World War II, the Headquarters Area continued to evolve, notably adding new modern residences as part of updating the residential units. Alterations continued under the Mission 66 program with the addition of a new administrative building at the northwest corner of the area and several Mission 66 houses to the northeast. Today, the area continues to serve as the park headquarters, utility area, and residential area, while showcasing the evolution in NPS design principles, including both Rustic and Mission 66 styles. The area also retains a number of important landscape features including the spatial organization of the overall area, buildings and structures, road network, and clusters of vegetation. The Headquarters Area is significant under Criteria A and C in the areas of conservation, politics/government, architecture, landscape architecture, and community planning and development from 1910 to 1967. Overall, the plan for the area is notable for its adherence to National Park Service (NPS) Rustic tenets of design, as well as Mission 66 design principles. The NPS Rustic style achieved harmony with the natural surroundings using native materials, appropriate scale and simple forms to blend in with the existing landscape. Mission 66 continued this philosophy with the use of cost efficient materials and prefabricated designs with modern technologies.

Headquarters Area: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Glacier National Park

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